1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to web browsers and more particularly to a web browser that displays a current web page along with past web pages and/or future web pages in a unique browsing environment.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The Internet has dramatically changed the manner in which we access, gather, and collect information. Often referred to as the "World Wide Web," the Internet provides a user with a host of "web pages." A web page is rendered from web page data that is downloaded from a source of web page data via the Internet using various well-known protocols. The web page data is often in the form of a hypertext mark-up language (e.g., HTML, DHTML, XML, etc.) or a scripting language (e.g., Java, JavaScript, etc.), and often includes a reference or hyperlink (i.e., a URL address) to another web page. The web page data may include other forms of source language and other forms of data as would be apparent. Once the web page data is rendered, the web page may be displayed to the user for viewing. The actions of selecting a web page, downloading web page data associated with the web page, rendering that data, and displaying the web page to the user is often referred to as "web browsing."
Various conventional web browsing engines, or web browsers as they are commonly referred, are available. These web browsers may, for example, include Microsoft's Internet Explorer.TM. and Netscape's Navigator.TM.. These web browsers facilitate web browsing and provide the user with a host of browsing features including bookmarks and history functions.
However, one of the problems associated with conventional web browsers is that typically, only one web page is rendered at any given time for display to the user. Conventional methods for overcoming this problem include the user opening a second instance of the web browser and manually switching back and forth between the instances, or alternately, the user manually moving and/or resizing a window in which each instance operates so that the respective instances can be contemporaneously viewed.
Another problem associated with conventional web browsers is navigating to previously visited web pages. Conventional web browsers typically maintain a list of previously visited or "past" web pages. This list of past web pages provides a history of the web pages visited by the user during a particular session. At various times, the user may return to a past web page, for example, by using a pull down menu to select a particular past web page from the history list. However, the list is cumbersome to use as the past web page is not always readily identifiable among the references maintained in the history list. As a result, the user must often navigate backwards through the history list in order to return to the desired past web page. The user may also return to a past web page by selecting a "backward" navigation button available on a tool bar of conventional web browsers. The backward button navigates the user sequentially through the history list as is well known.
Another problem associated with conventional web browsers is that future web pages are not viewable from a currently displayed web page. A future web page is a web page that is referenced via a hyperlink on a current web page. Future web pages are not viewable with conventional web browsers until the user selects that hyperlink. In order to determine whether a particular web site includes anything of interest, the user must manually select each hyperlink to have the web browser retrieve and render the hyperlinked web pages.
What is needed is an improved system and method for web browsing.